The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-12-24
EARLY SOUTHERN RAILR0ADING.
Running without CnpitnI->trnnge
stories Told by the Oldest Rafiroad
Treasurer


Treasurer
The oldest railroad treasurer in the
United States lives in this city, says Il
letter from Raleigh. ~ c., and his ex-
periences in the matter of railway COM
municaiion cover a period which EN-
braces practically the inception and
the completion OF that mode Of travel
aid traffic. His name is William w.
Vass. lie was born in Granville coun-
ty. North Carolina, in 1921. He bears
so well his burden of GO years that he
Cess not look day over So lie en-
.irtd business life as II clerk, in his
native county, in lSil. and two years
later. by his assiduity and quckncss,
was given partnership. In 1888 the
construction Of tho Raleigh and Castor
railway began. 1t was slow work.
Years cropl by. The $500, 600 given by
stockholders was all consumed. The
state, on a mortgage of the road, adj
vanced like sum. This was also en-
pended 1t was not until 1874 that the
road was completed. In 1916 Maj. Vass
became its treasurer.
Never did any man undertake q
worse bit of work. The debt was i'm
mense for those days, the receipts
small. the road the butt of ridicule and
derision. Matters went along from
bad to worse until 1S49. when the road
was forfeited 10 the state, under the
terms of its mortgage. Maj. Vass was
in that year elected president of the
road, but continued to exercise at the
same time all The duties of treasurer.
The road thus passed into the control
of the state. and Gov. Manly and the
state officers became board of con-
troll
That year there was an exciting cam
paign, whose memory fingers yet. 1t
was between the railroad and the anti
railroad factions. or rather. as il was
then known, fight between the inter-
nal improvement and ant.-internal i'm
provemcnt parties or the former,
James b. Sheppard was the candidate;
of the latter, William A. Graham
afterward secretary of the United
States. So great was the hostility to
railways that those who favored them
were objects of contumely, and in fact
of popular hatred. People were actu-
ally superstitious. There were two
railroads n the stale--lhe Wilmington
aud Weldon (now I'M important link III
the Atlantic Coast line) and the RAJ
leigh and CASTOR. Most people desired
return TO the stagc-coach DAYS The
farmers said they could no longer sell
their grain and forage. If railways
came into vogue. ms they did to the
stage companies. Old women declared
that they could III Sc neither vegetables
nor poultry along the line of the rail-
ways. and one woman actually spent
much of her time now in cursing and
now in praying against the Raleigh
and CASTOR line. Despite this power
full pressure and clamor, but by Il mar
row majority. the internal improvement
party triumphed.
Under these unfavorable auspices
Maj. Vass entered upon his duties as
president. The road was seventy-live
miles in length. 1t ran in an eccentric
manner, far removed from straight
line, ms it passed by the houses of GER
tain large stockholders who demanded
that ms condition of their subscrip'
tous. The road had TO bc operated
without capital. A few days before
the end OF the month President Vass
would 90 before the board of control
and make oath as to what sum he
believed he could ''run' the road ON
for the next thirty days. This sum
was an average about SO. 600 per month.
He had to be extremely careful. The
opposition to the road in particular and
to railways in general was such that
if It failed 10 meet expenses il was in
evitaby downed Maj. Vass kept
within the limit. He told all the en-
ployes how he had TO skimp and save.
He paid engineers s25 per month. his
superintendent $50, while iiremon and
laborers received from $3.50 TO S12. 80
per month. The receipts of the road
kept at Just abou, $4,000 monthly.
In those days the road,wasbuilt of
stringers of pine or white oak laid up
on stills. The latter were about six feet
apart All the timber was cut and